England U20 will be ready for whatever their Welsh counterparts throw at them come their 2026 U20 Six Nations opener at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, according to Northampton Saints scrum-half Jonny Weimann.
The 19-year-old was ruled out due to illness the last time the two sides met in the 2025 edition in Cardiff, as Wales upset the odds to claim victory in the final round clash and deny England back-to-back U20 Six Nations titles.
Weimann, who has 14 Saints appearances to his name, is a strong contender to feature as international men’s rugby makes its return to Northampton after six years away on Friday 6 February (kick-off: 7.45pm) – tickets are available priced from just £10 adult and £5 child by clicking HERE.
“I am really looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve played a few times here for Saints but wearing the Rose will be a different experience.
“Last year’s game against Wales was very scrappy, the weather was pretty dodgy, I think that’s the type of game Wales want to bring. They want to make it a bit of a fight.
“Hopefully if they do want to do that this year, we are up for it and we can also show our quality and our skillset on the pitch as well.”
Weimann did feature in the two further meetings against Wales that followed in 2025 as England warmed up for the Junior World Championships with a 47-13 victory in Pontypool, before concluding that tournament with a 51-13 victory to secure a fifth-place finish.
“We had a strong U20 group last year but came up short at a couple of hurdles,” Weimann explained. “Both the World Cup and Six Nations brought with them some disappointment.
“While it’s a new group that is coming together, we want to put that right this time around and I am really excited for the challenge that’s ahead.”
The 2024/25 campaign proved to be a remarkable one for the former Bedford School pupil. He became Saint #2098 as an 18-year-old when he arrived as a replacement against Leicester Tigers in November 2024’s PREM Cup clash.
Before the season reached its conclusion, Weimann had added eight further senior appearances; including a maiden PREM appearance against Tigers, a first PREM start at Exeter Chiefs and a first try in the competition in the final round encounter at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium.
“I wasn’t expecting to play nearly as much as I did,” Weimann admitted. “Towards the end of the season, it was quite helpful with us going so far in Europe, it gave opportunities for other boys in the PREM. I got some good game time, it exceeded my expectations at the start of the season. I was grateful for every minute I got to play.
“I remember the last home game in the PREM against Sarries here, I got 20 minutes at the end, and we managed to turn that around in the last minute, that was the highlight of the season for me last year. It is great to be playing in those senior fixtures, at the highest level in England.”
So far this season, the young back has added five more appearances in Black, Green and Gold and is enjoying the competition that comes from the Club’s rich array of talent at scrum-half.
“I just try and learn from the boys ahead of me in the pecking order; Mitch [Alex Mitchell], TJ [Tom James], Archie [McParland],” he said. “I just try and take what I can and then add my own bit to the game when I can and put it on the pitch.
“It has been a good season so far with results being a fair bit better than last year, and the overall vibe in the Club is positive at the moment. We are in a good spot and if we are performing well, that normally comes down to training well. Obviously being involved in training you do get better naturally day by day.”